Thunder Bounces Back With Big Win Over Sixers

Russell Westbrook recorded his 35th triple-double of the season as the Thunder dominated the Sixers, 122-97 on Wednesday night inside the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

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Westbrook finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists as is now six triple-doubles away from tying Oscar Robertson’s single-season record with 11 games left on the schedule.

The Thunder played efficient basketball from the start, and held a 33-28 lead on the Sixers when Westbrook checked back into the game with 9:07 left in the second quarter. With their leader now back on the court, OKC began to push down on the accelerator.

Westbrook found Doug McDermott for a jumper, Enes Kanter scored on back-to-back possessions out of the post, and before you knew it, Westbrook hooked up with Steven Adams for an and-1 layup to cap off a 14-5 run to put the Thunder up 14 points.

While it was a huge scoring spree, it wasn’t anything like OKC’s run to open the second half.

After leading by 13 at intermission, Westbrook clearly wanted to put the game away early on. Westbrook got things rolling with his signature elbow jumper, followed it up with a behind-the-back assist to Andre Roberson for a fast-break dunk, then connected with Victor Oladipo for an alley-oop to spark a 21-7 run to go up 27 points.

With the game in hand early on, Westbrook checked out with 2:39 left in the quarter and sat the entire fourth to pick up some well-deserved rest.

Along with his triple-double, Westbrook made all six of his shots from the field and all six of his free throw attempts, making him the first player in NBA history to do so. Kanter led the team in scoring with 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting while Oladipo scored 18 of his own.

Nik Stauskas led the Sixers with 20 points off the bench while Dario Saric and Robert Covington each added 12.

The Thunder has the next three days off before returning to action on Sunday when it faces James Harden and the Rockets.